Waukesha County Judge Rules Absentee Ballot Spoiling Is Illegal

By Henry Redman, Wisconsin Examiner

October 6, 2022

A Waukesha County judge granted a temporary injunction on Thursday, declaring that it is illegal for voters to recast absentee ballots if they change their mind or make a mistake.

The practice, known as ballot spoiling, was promoted by the Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) in August as an option for voters after a Republican gubernatorial candidate and several Democratic senate candidates dropped out of the primary race ahead of the election. The WEC sent guidance to the state’s more than 1,800 election clerks stating that voters could spoil their ballot and cast a vote for someone still in the race.

Judge Brad Schimel, the former Republican attorney general of Wisconsin, sided with the Republican-aligned group that brought the lawsuit on behalf of a Brookfield voter. The Democratic National Committee sided with the WEC in fighting the lawsuit.

The group Restoring Integrity and Trust in Elections (RITE), which was started this summer by former U.S. Attorney General William Barr, Republican strategist Karl Rove and GOP mega-donor Steve Wynn, among others, has also brought election-related lawsuits in other swing states including Arizona and Pennsylvania.

On Thursday, Schimel issued a temporary injunction against ballot spoiling and ordered the WEC to rescind its guidance on the issue, which is the action RITE had requested. The attorney for the elections commission requested that the injunction be stayed but Schimel rejected the request.

Since the 2020 election, as Republican operatives have attempted to use the court system to influence Wisconsin’s voting rules, the commission has often lost lawsuits at the Waukesha County Circuit Court over guidance the agency had issued to help local clerks navigate elections.

Last month, another judge ruled that commission guidance stating that clerks could fill in the missing address information of witnesses on absentee ballot certificates was illegal.

The WEC and its guidance have become targets of Republicans since 2020, with a number of Republican officials arguing the agency should be disbanded and the administration of the state’s election system be moved to a different office.

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